Irwin died in 2006 when a stingray barb pierced his heart while diving off Port Douglas in Queensland.

Thing is, the animal rights group thought it was a perfect opportunity to tweet to its million-plus followers that Irwin "was killed while harassing a ray” and that the Google doodle "sends a dangerous, fawning message."

#SteveIrwin was killed while harassing a ray; he dangled his baby while feeding a crocodile & wrestled wild animals who were minding their own business. Today’s #GoogleDoodle sends a dangerous, fawning message. Wild animals are entitled to be left alone in their natural habitats. https://t.co/9JfJiBhGLw

It is harassment to drag exotic animals, including babies taken from their mothers, around from TV talk shows to conferences & force them to perform as Steve Irwin did. Animals deserve to live as they want to, not as humans demand––the #GoogleDoodle should represent that.

I feel it’s safe to assume that I speak for all Aussie’s when I say this, PETA you fucked up real bad and talking shit about our beautiful Steve is like a personal and vicious attack on every single Aussie......you just started war with an entire country!

I'm an Australian wildlife rescue volunteer. #SteveIrwin and his family gave an awful lot of quiet, unpublicised support to organisations like mine. He was a serious conservationist & did the hard & unglamourous work required. PETA are attention-seeking posers by comparison